The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) published a ruling against the UK-based bookmaker William Hill after investigating a complaint filed against the company.
The complainant claimed that on June 23rd 2016 the online betting website of the brand published an advert stating that players could have received free £20 credited to their accounts after placing a bet of £10. According to the terms of the promotion, the free bet would have been paid out as 2x£10 bets, but it was available to new customers only. The rest of the advert’s terms were uploaded in the promotion’s Terms and Conditions.
The person who filed the complaint turned to the Advertising Standards Authority as they believed the offer’s conditions were not made clear and claimed that the advert was misleading to customers.
William Hill responded to the accusations, saying that the Terms and Conditions of the offer were displayed in a pop-up box, and there was a specific point that clearly stated on what odds the first bet of the player should have been placed in order for the customer to be eligible for getting the free bet. The company also emphasized on the fact that this condition was repeated in the “Wagering and Terms Apply”, which was displayed as a clickable link.
According to William Hill, all the conditions of the special offer were made clear to the customers both in the ad itself and the link that led to its Terms and Condition. The company also stated that every player was supposed to make an informed decision whether they would like to take part in the promotion or not.
The Advertising Standards Authority upheld the customer’s complaint against William Hill. The watchdog considered that customers would expect all the major conditions of an offer to be clearly stated and displayed in the advert. The Authority also said that the promotional offer text made only part of its conditions clear, skipping one of its most significant conditions.
The regulatory body found that the restriction of the odds in William Hill’s ad was a condition of great significance to the offer and failing to make it clear to players could have influenced customers’ decision. According to ASA’s ruling, the bookmaker’s advert breached CAP Code rules 3.1 and 3.3, 3.10 and 8.2, which were related to Misleading advertising, Qualification and Promotional Marketing, respectively.
The Advertising Standards Authority banned the ad, saying that it must not be displayed in its current form any more. It also recommended William Hill to make sure that their future promotions would make all significant conditions clear to customers.
- Author
Daniel Williams
